I bought a 488 new and used it mostly for recording our band rehearsals live, with 4 carefully placed mics. Those recordings still sound great, and very live. Better than the studio recordings we made, in my opinion.
This is really interesting. The 488 really acquits itself nicely here. I thought the narrow tape width would make this a no brainer. First I listened w my iPhone speaker, then headphones and then my Bluetooth speaker . The 424 lacks high end clarity which accentuates its mid-ranginess, but the individual tracks do sound more substantial (need less eq’ing). The 488 has more sparkle and makes for a brighter, “happier” mix sound. In the end I think it depends on the mood you want! But that 488 exceeded my expectations, regardless. Well done.
Many thanks for having a listen and sharing your thoughts. You’ve pretty much echoed my feelings here, the 488 covers a surprisingly wide frequency range and holds up rather well considering it uses half the tape width of the 424.
@@wehappyfewmusic I have an opportunity to pick up a 488 MKII and this video really nudged me in that direction. So thanks for making this. Also wanted to say, I really enjoy how unpretentious your channel is. Lots of folks have jumped on the analog recording gear channel bandwagon recently, but the way you are open about your process is a relief in that sense. 🤘🏻 🙏🏻 🔥
One of only two or three utoobs using these to actually record real live instruments. Bravo and thanks! Most of the renewed interest in the vintage 4-tracks is to add back in what us old original users worked so hard to reduce/eliminate! (hiss, wow, pop) Bought one of the super expensive newly released Tascam 424 Master cassettes for my 424 MKii. Specially formulated tape for them. I fear I’ll be disappointed in the performance, but at least watching the little reels spin will be fun!
Thanks very much! Yes I love recording guitars/drums etc on to these machines. I’d be interested to hear how you get on with Tascam’s new tapes, they do look lovely but I have heard some mixed reviews.
@@wehappyfewmusic Spinning reels are the only enjoyment I’ll get out of the new 424 Master tape. Signal paths through the mixer are clean and strong. Meters 1-4 show 0 to +6 recording. Upon playback, meters 1-4 barely blip up. My machine has deep problems I fear. Sorry I couldn’t give a better report.
@@nohrtillman8734 oh no, sorry to hear that! Does your machine work properly with other type 2 tapes? I did a comparison with the new cobalt ATR cassettes and traditional chrome Maxell cassettes, and the ATR was also very quiet on play back (ATR apparently use the same formula as the new Tascam tapes)
@@wehappyfewmusic A TDK SM30 type II I recorded on a couple of decades ago does playback nicely. DBX on. One track of an acoustic guitar. It sounds crisp, clean, no hiss, thump, flutter…I’m impressed. Zero meter outputs on 1-4 but I have no idea what levels I gave it that long ago. Interesting you are experiencing lower playback out of the cobalts. Funny (or sad) thing is they’re advertised as 4 dB higher output than the chrome.
@@nohrtillman8734 That’s surprising that the cobalt tapes are advertised as being 4db louder than chrome, I found them to be about 3-4 db quieter. 😊I hope you manage to get your 4 track working fully again!
Both sound decent, but I feel that the 424 has more depth and weight across the frequency spectrum , especially the drums and bass. I make techno and use a 4 track as an essential part of my setup for performance and recording. I have been researching the relative merits of 8 tracks vs 4 and my suspicions have been confirmed that most kick drums, eg , would lose definition and punch on the 8 track .... Still, I could use one of 8 tracks to record clock and play the kick live, tuned to the room
Thanks for checking in out! I’m pretty sure I had the speed control set in the centre (which is the normal speed/pitch) but the 424 does seem a touch slower. It could be one of the machines was not quite calibrated properly. I’ve had the 488 serviced since making the video, and swapped the 424mk3 for a mk1.
I just got a 424 mkiii in great condition. Apparently was 1 of a set of 10 in an educational institute. Looks barely used. All the parts and dials etc look fresh as.
I just bought a regular stereo cassette player and am going though all my music from the 90s, some of the stuff that was done on the 488 sounds fine (except for my playing, lol). I do have some 4 and 8 track cassette masters that I'm kind of curious about. I love the computer and Reaper, but those cassette machines were magic when they came out!
Yes I love these old machines and couldn’t afford them when I was a kid, so guess I’m making up for it now! Are you tempted to get another one to play back your old master tapes?
@@wehappyfewmusic I might get one if I can't find 2 track versions of my old tracks. Right now present me absolutely hates past me for my lack of organization, most of my tapes are blank on the outside, one actually says "songs" lol. it's going to be a long process. The audio quality can be pretty good though on the 488 if you're careful with recording levels, cheers!
the 4 tracks on the 488 sound like half the width of the 424 lol 😄But the 488 is a bit brighter than the 424. The 424 has a bit more low end and literally just sounds like the full 1/8 inch tape. When we recorded our album on the 488 mki, sometimes I'd double up tracks to get a bit more fidelity out of certain intruments such as the main acoustic guitar, and use the single tracks for backing intruments and vocals.
Thanks for checking out the video and that’s a good idea to double up important tracks on the 488! Coincidentally I just got back this 8 track from the service centre yesterday, so looking forward to using it again. 🙌
That was interesting. I thought the 8 tracks was brighter but lacked the richness of bass the 4 track seemed to have. I only listen via the phone and not headphones though..
Glad you found the comparison interesting and thanks for commenting! I think you’re right, although if you get chance to listen with headphones at some point, the 488 has a fair amount of low end too. It seem a bit more scooped in the mids though.
@@wehappyfewmusic I listened with my Apple iPhones and I don't like the 8 track at all. I like the richness that comes from the 424. Really good experiment though...
Did you do anything at all different? The 488 honestly seems like a huge dip in clarity and low end information, especially in the cymbals they start getting kind of that “low information mp3” type sound where the harmonics get really sharp. Are they at the same tape speed?
Is everyone deaf ? lol jk.... IMO the 424 sounds the best . Listen to that snare . It is fuller on the 424 . The Acoustic sounds warmer on the 424 . A lil bit of Eq'ing and I believe that 424 mix would sound really good . The guitar and bass on the 488 are too loud in the mix . The snare on the 488 seem thin and bright . The way the example is edited , the cymbal crashes are only on the 488 example . They are really bright . All in All I still think you can achieve a good mix from both machines . It's a matter of moving mics and adjusting knobs according to the characteristics of the machine . I've have two identical 4 tracks and one sounded better than the other . Cassette recording has made a huge comeback . Type 2 cassettes are the preferred tape to be used and the price on NOS is expensive .
I’d recommend planning the parts you intend to bounce before you start recording anything to make sure the most important parts are 1st generation takes. For example backing vocals or the separate mics off a drum kit are fine to bounce, but I’d avoid bouncing main vocals. Also, check you’re happy with the levels before deleting the original tracks (or make a backup).
I've got the 8-track. Can't tell much difference. I do vocal layering. I have the porta one 4-track. The 4track sound is cleaner than the 8. The more layers the muddier the sound.
If I had known the 488 existed at the time, I would have definitely gotten it (if I could have afforded it.) But I got the 424mkiii because that's the best one I was aware of. I mainly just play simple rock music ( mostly just vox, guitars, bass, drums) but even on the 4 track I have to bounce tracks & that's where I have the most trouble...& it Seems to diminish sound quality no matter how good I manage to do it. Even on recordings I've made that sound awesome (at least to me) it sounded better BEFORE I bounced (combined) tracks together, so I'd love to NOT have to do that. But at the time I had no idea about the 488...actually I didn't know it existed until about a year or two ago!!! 🤣😂
I hear you, that’s one of the reasons I love 8 tracks! Have you tried doing external bounces with your 4 track yet? If not it might help the quality of your 4 track demos on the 424. I’ve done a tutorial about it here…th-cam.com/video/MG6tYVhd7GI/w-d-xo.html
Hi, I’ve not used a fostex 28h but I don’t think there would be much audio quality difference, as they both record at high speed (assuming they’re both working properly). You might find the extra eq controls useful though.
The electronics sound tighter on the 8 track.....I think the only way they could have managed to do 8 tracks is with higher quality electronics........The manuals on both those things are an interesting read.....and you should read the manuals
Everything I record sounds awful. When I bounce or combine tracks sound quality goes way down yet it sucked to begin with... Wish I could figure out how to get everything to sound just decent.
That’s a pain! Assuming that your portastudio is working properly I’d suggest the following (if you’ve not already tried this). 1. Use a good typeII cassette tape. 2. get a good signal on the way in and give a slight treble boost. 3. Use DBX noise reduction. 4. Try to only bounce less important parts like backing vocals, percussion etc.
I'm getting back into the hang of it now. I had bought this thing new in the early 2000s but lost the power supply around 2006-ish & just recently got a replacement. I'm getting there. Only real issue with the 424 mkiii is the line out jacks are junk. I've recently resoldered them & also had to resolder the board at the power supply jack...but the line out jacks apparently need to be soldered back AGAIN already!!!
Maybe while I'm doing that I can maybe do something to reinforce it...because just soldering them back into place only helps temporarily because ofnhow they built them. I don't know why they did something stupid like that.
@@wehappyfewmusic oh & by the way I mostly bounce drum & bass guitar onto track 4. Tracks one & two are rhythm guitar, one panned right, the other panned left. Track 3 is vocals & sometimes guitar solos. & sometimes I'll add a backing vocal or guitar solo through the number 5 input during mix down....but almost always it's only bass & drums bounced to one track. My music is usually pretty simple...guitar, bass, drums, vocals. I will occasionally bounce a 3rd track depending on what I'm doing but not often.
I have 10 cassettes tapes with 8 track recordings done on an tascam 8 track in 1987 (ish) Can I use a 4 track ( 424) to play these or do I have to use a 488 ? Also, anyone know where Im likely to find one?
You’ll need another 8 track to play them back properly as the 424 has different heads. There are usually a few Tascam 488’s available on eBay though (currently several in the UK).
@@wehappyfewmusic thank you for that. If, on the off chance these cassettets turn out to be 4 track done on a 4 track tascam, will the 488 still play them? Thanks
@@rickcadman8900 yes the 8 track will play the 4 track tapes, although it’ll sound a little bit out of sync. The 8 track heads are staggered and the 4 tracks are in-line.
I bought a 488 new and used it mostly for recording our band rehearsals live, with 4 carefully placed mics. Those recordings still sound great, and very live. Better than the studio recordings we made, in my opinion.
Cool, yes I bet it worked a treat for that setup!
I bought a 488 too. It showed up damaged though unfortunately and I'll have to try n return it...
This is really interesting. The 488 really acquits itself nicely here. I thought the narrow tape width would make this a no brainer. First I listened w my iPhone speaker, then headphones and then my Bluetooth speaker
. The 424 lacks high end clarity which accentuates its mid-ranginess, but the individual tracks do sound more substantial (need less eq’ing). The 488 has more sparkle and makes for a brighter, “happier” mix sound. In the end I think it depends on the mood you want! But that 488 exceeded my expectations, regardless. Well done.
Many thanks for having a listen and sharing your thoughts. You’ve pretty much echoed my feelings here, the 488 covers a surprisingly wide frequency range and holds up rather well considering it uses half the tape width of the 424.
@@wehappyfewmusic I have an opportunity to pick up a 488 MKII and this video really nudged me in that direction. So thanks for making this. Also wanted to say, I really enjoy how unpretentious your channel is. Lots of folks have jumped on the analog recording gear channel bandwagon recently, but the way you are open about your process is a relief in that sense. 🤘🏻 🙏🏻 🔥
@@BogoEN much appreciated and the best of luck with your 488 MKII, they’re great machines! 👍👌
One of only two or three utoobs using these to actually record real live instruments. Bravo and thanks!
Most of the renewed interest in the vintage 4-tracks is to add back in what us old original users worked so hard to reduce/eliminate! (hiss, wow, pop)
Bought one of the super expensive newly released Tascam 424 Master cassettes for my 424 MKii. Specially formulated tape for them. I fear I’ll be disappointed in the performance, but at least watching the little reels spin will be fun!
Thanks very much! Yes I love recording guitars/drums etc on to these machines. I’d be interested to hear how you get on with Tascam’s new tapes, they do look lovely but I have heard some mixed reviews.
@@wehappyfewmusic Spinning reels are the only enjoyment I’ll get out of the new 424 Master tape.
Signal paths through the mixer are clean and strong. Meters 1-4 show 0 to +6 recording. Upon playback, meters 1-4 barely blip up. My machine has deep problems I fear.
Sorry I couldn’t give a better report.
@@nohrtillman8734 oh no, sorry to hear that! Does your machine work properly with other type 2 tapes? I did a comparison with the new cobalt ATR cassettes and traditional chrome Maxell cassettes, and the ATR was also very quiet on play back (ATR apparently use the same formula as the new Tascam tapes)
@@wehappyfewmusic A TDK SM30 type II I recorded on a couple of decades ago does playback nicely. DBX on. One track of an acoustic guitar. It sounds crisp, clean, no hiss, thump, flutter…I’m impressed.
Zero meter outputs on 1-4 but I have no idea what levels I gave it that long ago.
Interesting you are experiencing lower playback out of the cobalts. Funny (or sad) thing is they’re advertised as 4 dB higher output than the chrome.
@@nohrtillman8734 That’s surprising that the cobalt tapes are advertised as being 4db louder than chrome, I found them to be about 3-4 db quieter. 😊I hope you manage to get your 4 track working fully again!
I like both of them.....even lol fi analog sounds better than the best protools rig to me..
Know what you mean, you can’t beat analog!
@@wehappyfewmusic Quite!
Both sound decent, but I feel that the 424 has more depth and weight across the frequency spectrum , especially the drums and bass. I make techno and use a 4 track as an essential part of my setup for performance and recording. I have been researching the relative merits of 8 tracks vs 4 and my suspicions have been confirmed that most kick drums, eg , would lose definition and punch on the 8 track .... Still, I could use one of 8 tracks to record clock and play the kick live, tuned to the room
Sounds like you’ve got an interesting live setup there. Do you play back loops through your 424 then?
Thanks for the video! Is the Pitch control on the 424 center detent? Feels like it affect the pitch slightly
Thanks for checking in out! I’m pretty sure I had the speed control set in the centre (which is the normal speed/pitch) but the 424 does seem a touch slower. It could be one of the machines was not quite calibrated properly. I’ve had the 488 serviced since making the video, and swapped the 424mk3 for a mk1.
@@wehappyfewmusic Thanks! So I take it the 424's pitch control knob isn't center detent regardless of correct calibration.. That sucks
I just got a 424 mkiii in great condition. Apparently was 1 of a set of 10 in an educational institute. Looks barely used. All the parts and dials etc look fresh as.
Nice score! Is it all working well too?
@@wehappyfewmusic Yep, good news.
I just bought a regular stereo cassette player and am going though all my music from the 90s, some of the stuff that was done on the 488 sounds fine (except for my playing, lol). I do have some 4 and 8 track cassette masters that I'm kind of curious about. I love the computer and Reaper, but those cassette machines were magic when they came out!
Yes I love these old machines and couldn’t afford them when I was a kid, so guess I’m making up for it now! Are you tempted to get another one to play back your old master tapes?
@@wehappyfewmusic I might get one if I can't find 2 track versions of my old tracks. Right now present me absolutely hates past me for my lack of organization, most of my tapes are blank on the outside, one actually says "songs" lol. it's going to be a long process. The audio quality can be pretty good though on the 488 if you're careful with recording levels, cheers!
the 4 tracks on the 488 sound like half the width of the 424 lol 😄But the 488 is a bit brighter than the 424. The 424 has a bit more low end and literally just sounds like the full 1/8 inch tape. When we recorded our album on the 488 mki, sometimes I'd double up tracks to get a bit more fidelity out of certain intruments such as the main acoustic guitar, and use the single tracks for backing intruments and vocals.
Thanks for checking out the video and that’s a good idea to double up important tracks on the 488! Coincidentally I just got back this 8 track from the service centre yesterday, so looking forward to using it again. 🙌
That was interesting. I thought the 8 tracks was brighter but lacked the richness of bass the 4 track seemed to have. I only listen via the phone and not headphones though..
Glad you found the comparison interesting and thanks for commenting! I think you’re right, although if you get chance to listen with headphones at some point, the 488 has a fair amount of low end too. It seem a bit more scooped in the mids though.
@@wehappyfewmusic I listened with my Apple iPhones and I don't like the 8 track at all. I like the richness that comes from the 424. Really good experiment though...
@@Wizkidmelburn thanks for having a 2nd listen on headphones, one firm vote for the 424 then. 👍
Informative ...enjoyed it👍
Glad you liked it!
488 is brighter and airy for my opinion
Hi many thanks for casting your vote! 👍
Did you do anything at all different? The 488 honestly seems like a huge dip in clarity and low end information, especially in the cymbals they start getting kind of that “low information mp3” type sound where the harmonics get really sharp. Are they at the same tape speed?
Thanks for having a listen! Both decks were run at the same speed, and the parts recorded in the same way each time.
You can record a stereo drum track from your DAW to a 4 track Portastudio right?
Yes you’d just pan the stereo signal to opposite tracks on 1&2 or 3&4 on your Portastudio.
Is everyone deaf ? lol jk.... IMO the 424 sounds the best . Listen to that snare . It is fuller on the 424 . The Acoustic sounds warmer on the 424 . A lil bit of Eq'ing and I believe that 424 mix would sound really good . The guitar and bass on the 488 are too loud in the mix . The snare on the 488 seem thin and bright . The way the example is edited , the cymbal crashes are only on the 488 example . They are really bright . All in All I still think you can achieve a good mix from both machines . It's a matter of moving mics and adjusting knobs according to the characteristics of the machine . I've have two identical 4 tracks and one sounded better than the other . Cassette recording has made a huge comeback . Type 2 cassettes are the preferred tape to be used and the price on NOS is expensive .
That’s a firm vote for the 424 then! Yes, it’s good that cassette recording is making a bit of a comeback.
Any tips on bouncing with the 488mkii? Also any info on the erase function would be helpful
I’d recommend planning the parts you intend to bounce before you start recording anything to make sure the most important parts are 1st generation takes. For example backing vocals or the separate mics off a drum kit are fine to bounce, but I’d avoid bouncing main vocals. Also, check you’re happy with the levels before deleting the original tracks (or make a backup).
How do 8 tracks work with a nornal cassette? Where do the extra 4 tracks go? Or is that just an 8 channel input mixer?
Hey, just answered your question on my other video. 👍
bass and sub bass sounds great in a 488
Yeah has a nice warmth to it.
Great test! I like 488 more, 424 seemed a little muted to my taste.
Thanks for having a listen, yes the 488 is definitely brighter.
I've got the 8-track. Can't tell much difference. I do vocal layering. I have the porta one 4-track. The 4track sound is cleaner than the 8. The more layers the muddier the sound.
Thanks for commenting, do you still find your 488 muddy sounding after equalising stuff?
yesssss
Thanks. Is your 246 fully up and running yet?
@@wehappyfewmusic yeah it works
If I had known the 488 existed at the time, I would have definitely gotten it (if I could have afforded it.) But I got the 424mkiii because that's the best one I was aware of. I mainly just play simple rock music ( mostly just vox, guitars, bass, drums) but even on the 4 track I have to bounce tracks & that's where I have the most trouble...& it Seems to diminish sound quality no matter how good I manage to do it. Even on recordings I've made that sound awesome (at least to me) it sounded better BEFORE I bounced (combined) tracks together, so I'd love to NOT have to do that. But at the time I had no idea about the 488...actually I didn't know it existed until about a year or two ago!!! 🤣😂
I hear you, that’s one of the reasons I love 8 tracks! Have you tried doing external bounces with your 4 track yet? If not it might help the quality of your 4 track demos on the 424. I’ve done a tutorial about it here…th-cam.com/video/MG6tYVhd7GI/w-d-xo.html
Hello,
I own a fostex 28h and now I see a cheap good working tascam 425 porta. Would you go for that and sell the other?
Hi, I’ve not used a fostex 28h but I don’t think there would be much audio quality difference, as they both record at high speed (assuming they’re both working properly). You might find the extra eq controls useful though.
The electronics sound tighter on the 8 track.....I think the only way they could have managed to do 8 tracks is with higher quality electronics........The manuals on both those things are an interesting read.....and you should read the manuals
Yes that’d make sense.
Everything I record sounds awful. When I bounce or combine tracks sound quality goes way down yet it sucked to begin with... Wish I could figure out how to get everything to sound just decent.
That’s a pain! Assuming that your portastudio is working properly I’d suggest the following (if you’ve not already tried this). 1. Use a good typeII cassette tape. 2. get a good signal on the way in and give a slight treble boost. 3. Use DBX noise reduction. 4. Try to only bounce less important parts like backing vocals, percussion etc.
I'm getting back into the hang of it now. I had bought this thing new in the early 2000s but lost the power supply around 2006-ish & just recently got a replacement. I'm getting there. Only real issue with the 424 mkiii is the line out jacks are junk. I've recently resoldered them & also had to resolder the board at the power supply jack...but the line out jacks apparently need to be soldered back AGAIN already!!!
Maybe while I'm doing that I can maybe do something to reinforce it...because just soldering them back into place only helps temporarily because ofnhow they built them. I don't know why they did something stupid like that.
@@wehappyfewmusic oh & by the way I mostly bounce drum & bass guitar onto track 4.
Tracks one & two are rhythm guitar, one panned right, the other panned left. Track 3 is vocals & sometimes guitar solos. & sometimes I'll add a backing vocal or guitar solo through the number 5 input during mix down....but almost always it's only bass & drums bounced to one track. My music is usually pretty simple...guitar, bass, drums, vocals. I will occasionally bounce a 3rd track depending on what I'm doing but not often.
@@jesusgavemeaids Glad to hear you’re got the hang of it again and that sounds like a good system of arranging tracks.
I'm gonna say Tascam before reading the comments.
Good guess 😅🙌
I have 10 cassettes tapes with 8 track recordings done on an tascam 8 track in 1987 (ish) Can I use a 4 track ( 424) to play these or do I have to use a 488 ? Also, anyone know where Im likely to find one?
You’ll need another 8 track to play them back properly as the 424 has different heads. There are usually a few Tascam 488’s available on eBay though (currently several in the UK).
@@wehappyfewmusic thank you for that. If, on the off chance these cassettets turn out to be 4 track done on a 4 track tascam, will the 488 still play them? Thanks
@@rickcadman8900 yes the 8 track will play the 4 track tapes, although it’ll sound a little bit out of sync. The 8 track heads are staggered and the 4 tracks are in-line.
@@wehappyfewmusic Thank you for your help.
What mic?
It’s an Audio Technica AT4033a Condenser Microphone.
No offense but they both sound really bad
No problem, the 488 sounds better now after being serviced.